The air temperature at the peak reached minus 47 degrees F (-44 C), with winds gusting near 100 miles per hour (160 kilometers per hour), according to the Mount Washington Observatory.
In Providence, Rhode Island, the mercury dropped to minus 9 degrees F (-23 C), well below the previous all-time low of minus 2 degrees F (-19 C), set in 1918.
Several cities took emergency measures to aid residents, including opening warming centers and conducting outreach to ensure homeless people were sheltered from the brutal cold.
The frigid weather was expected to be short-lived, with temperatures forecast to be significantly higher on Sunday.
The high temperature in Boston on Sunday will approach 47 degrees F (8.3 C), the NWS said.